Painful Reunion
by Dippy Conlon
Summary: Itey has never told anyone how he came to be a newsie. Tonight, he will. One shot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Itey and Swifty. They belong to Disney.  
  
"Itey, Itey," I am shaken awake gently by a whispering voice. I open my eyes and find Swifty looking down at me. He and I are good friends, despite the age difference. Age does not matter when one's life is so short.  
  
"What is it?" I ask him sleepily.  
  
"Don't you remember? You were screaming, then you started coughing in your sleep. I woke you up before the others heard you," he frowns slightly, watching me think.  
  
"Oh," I respond, feeling the shortness of breath and recalling the dream. I whisper, "Thanks, Swifty."  
  
"No problem, hey, you want to talk about it?" he puts a hand on my shoulder and looks at me, concern etched all over his face.  
  
"Yeah, I would," I sit looking at my lap as I answer. I have not told anyone how I came to be here. It has been a wish of mine since that first day.  
  
Swifty sits down at the end of the bed, which is not far away from where I am seated. I stare at my hands for a moment before quietly beginning my tale.  
  
"Ya remembah when I first got heah? It was three yeahs ago. I was a little kid then, huh?" I smile a bit and laugh quietly. Swifty nods and also laughs, I had been young. I had been eleven, barely old enough to think for myself. Swifty had been the first person I saw that day, the first person I spoke to. He is still the only one I really talk to. He is the only one I trust. I guess that is why I am telling him this story and no one else.  
  
"Well, I had that bruise on my cheek, right?" I look up at him for reassurance, I want to be certain that he is listening before I continue. It would be awful to spill this out only to find that he has not heard. "I really did get it falling down.  
  
"It all began when my dad lost his job. I was five with two sistahs, both youngah. With the lack of money, we had to move into a smallah apartment. I shared a bed with my sistahs and my parents slept in the same room, but with a separate bed. We were fine for awhile, but when he couldn't find a job, it got to him. He started drinkin' more an' more. My ma tried to get him to stop, tellin' him that we wouldn't have money to pay the rent. He didn't listen.  
  
"The landlady nevah left us alone. We didn't have the money, so we were kicked out. Wait, I'm gettin' ahead of myself," I stop for a moment. After a coughing fit, I continue, "Ok, well, when we were still in the apartment, my dad started gettin' violent. We didn't have the money for his alcohol, so he started beatin' on my ma. He thought she was keepin' it from him on purpose.  
  
"He didn't touch my sistahs and me, but it was only a mattah of time. It was bad enough hearin' him hurt ma, though. She would scream an' scream all night. I had to sit in the bedroom with my hands ovah my sistahs' eahs so they wouldn't heah.  
  
"Ok, so then we got kicked out. Ma didn't know what to do. Unfortunately, she resorted to whorin' for extra cash," I admit in a hushed voice. I am still ashamed of that fact. Swifty clears his throat, like he always does before he says something important.  
  
"Itey, it isn't shameful to have a mother that... did that," he politely words it. I shake my head.  
  
"No, just call it what it was. She was a whore," I tell him, not willing to soften any of the story for myself. I do not need to delude myself with foolish fancies. The passion with which I utter these words starts me off on another coughing spasm. I have trouble regaining my breath this time. It takes a few minutes before I can calm it down.  
  
"No, Itey, listen to me. She had to make money. She couldn't get work in a factory with you and your sisters. She had no choice. Don't have a bad opinion of such a woman," he warns in a tone that implies he is offended. What has Swifty kept a secret?  
  
"Alright, well, that's what she did. It made enough money to feed us, though dad would take some to get drunk. I wondah now why we didn't leave an' not let him find us. It would've made sense," I lose myself in thought for a moment. "Oh, sorry, anyway, my dad still hit my ma durin' all this time. It was startin' to get worse, I could tell. She wouldn't be able to move aftah some of 'em."  
  
I again find myself not speaking, but remembering. It had been awful to find her lying in the alley, bloody and bruised. She would tell us that she was fine and to not worry, but I knew she was not. I was young, but nearly nine by that time. I suddenly become aware that have stopped speaking.  
  
"Oops, sorry about that. So, she was doin' real bad. One day, I returned with my sistahs to the alley we were livin' in. I don't remembah wheah I took 'em, but I did it often. So, we got back and found ma lyin' in the alley as usual. I was worried, 'cause I was always worried aftah dad beat her up. I walked ovah, tellin' my sistahs to stay away for a minute. I had to be cautious so that if she was evah dead they wouldn't see it. Still, I wasn't prepared," I stop here. My voice has choked a bit, beginning on the end of that sentence. I can feel tears coming to my eyes, but they are not near enough for danger. It is my voice that is giving me trouble. It refuses to stay normal, but insists upon cracking and doing other embarrassing things. It also feels quite dry, so I frequently cough, but nothing too serious.  
  
"Itey, you ok?" Swifty asks, reaching over to place a comforting hand on my shoulder. I nod and take a deep breath, suppressing the cough it causes.  
  
"Yeah, just fine. I reached down an' moved her hair aside. I pulled my hand back real quick when I saw her face. It was covered in cuts, with one bleedin' real bad. I flipped her ovah onto her back and looked. There were more cuts all ovah her body. They were all bleedin'. Her dress looked like it had red polka dots on it, but they weren't even or round," I stop again, my eyes glazing over as I remember the sight. It was awful. "I back away real slow.  
  
"I reached the end of the alley an' took off. I just ran an' ran. When I stopped, I realized that I had no idea wheah I was. I couldn't find 'em again," the tears are closer now. I had wanted to go back so badly. I had not meant to leave my sisters alone, but I was not thinking clearly. I had planned on going back. The tears spill over. "I had planned on goin' back."  
  
Swifty moves closer and rubs my back as I cry. I try to keep quiet, but it is hard when one is crying. I can hear Swifty speaking in a comforting tone to me, but I can not decipher the words. All the while, coughs are plaguing me. The crying is too much for me to handle in this condition. After what seems like ten minutes, I regain control and wipe the tears away.  
  
"I'm sorry," I tell him, still wiping away the signs of my weakness.  
  
"No need, Itey. You haven't told anyone about this, you are going to cry," he tells me with a friendly smile. "Just be glad that the others aren't awake."  
  
"Yeah," I smile back at him. "That was the day I came heah. I tripped an' fell while I was runnin'. My dad nevah got the chance to beat me up, but I don't think my sistahs were as lucky," my voice breaks again. I can still see them. They were so young and innocent. I had always wanted to be there to protect them. They were my sisters. I had deserted them and left them to almost certain pain and suffering, if not death. I had been stupid to leave them. I should have had more control over myself. There was no reason to run like that. Though, deep in my heart, I know that there had been.  
  
"I'm sorry, Itey," Swifty says sincerely.  
  
"Yeah, well, it could've been worse," I shrug, not wanting to seem pitiful. "How'd ya get heah?"  
  
"I'll tell you that some other time," he smiles sadly and stands up. "Just go back to sleep."  
  
"Ok, goodnight, Swifty," I call softly as he returns to his own bed. I roll over in mine and stare at the wall. "What happened to ya two? Are ya ok?"  
  
I clear my throat and drift off to sleep. I fade into a dream. I am in a field. It is green, with lovely flowers growing everywhere. I frown, though. It reminds me of my sisters. They always loved flowers and dreamed of running in fields of them. Suddenly, I hear giggles. Running over to me are two small girls. As they near, I recognize them as my sisters. A confused, but thrilled smile finds its way to my face. I wait for them and hold my arms out to capture them with.  
  
Suddenly there is a bright flash of white light. I feel strange, my breath is no longer short, nor is there pain in my chest. When it fades, they are in my arms.  
  
"Where did you go? We missed you," my younger sister asks, pouting adorably. I smile and kiss her forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry. I tried to find ya, but I couldn't," I inform them. The older kisses my cheek.  
  
"Don't worry. We found you," she smiles.  
  
"Ma!" the younger gleefully cries, breaking away from me. I look up and see my mother. She is standing above us with a happy smile on her face.  
  
"I missed you," she tells me, and then hugs me.  
  
"Come, come," my younger sister grabs my hand and leads me. "We have to go home now."  
  
We walk through the fields, all thrilled to be together again.  
  
A/N: Itey! I'm so sorry!  
  
Itey: That's ok.  
  
Me: Itey! (hugs him) (addresses reader) I was in the mood for something depressing, so I came up with this. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please review and tell me what you think.  
  
Itey: Can't... breathe. 


End file.
